


A Cheerleader Far, Far Away

by JoeHundredaire



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, And not just of Jango Fett either, And there's a lot of clones, BAMF Cordelia Chase, Cordelia gets cloned, Cordelia is inappropriate, F/F, Multi, Post-Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Reincarnation, Technically it starts a few months before Attack of the Clones, Well for the most part, like a lot, that's terrifying, transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:22:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoeHundredaire/pseuds/JoeHundredaire
Summary: Cordelia Chase gets a new lease on life after her death on Earth. Heaven help the galaxy far, far away…
Relationships: Cordelia Chase/Original Female Character, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. In Trouble, You Are

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** _A Cheerleader Far, Far Away  
>  _**Author:** JoeHundredaire  
>  **Rating:** R/FR18.  
>  **Pairings:** Cordelia Chase/Hiskari Dorset  
>  **Disclaimer:** Right, I actually went and checked to be sure this time… after being passed around like a slut at a frat party over the past few years, _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ , _Angel: the Series_ , and all associated characters now belong to Warner Brothers. And now that _The Force Awakens_ is out and breaking records left and right, I'm reasonably certain that George Lucas regrets selling _Star Wars_ to Disney. Eh, serves the miserable old misogynist bastard right in my none-too-humble opinion. Hiskari Dorset is all mine, though, so I won't be terribly amused if I see her popping up in stories that aren't mine without being asked first.  
>  **Summary:** Cordelia Chase gets a new lease on life after her death on Earth. Heaven help the galaxy far, far away…  
>  **Joe's Note:** According to my Whole Story saved copy of _Cordylosophies_ from Twisting the Hellmouth, the first chapters of this story date all the way back to August 29, 2006. That sets it firmly before the debut of either _The Clone Wars_ or _Rebels_ , and means that it utilizes some material that was firmly retconned even before the Disney takeover and the introduction of 'Legends' designation for all unwanted Expanded Universe material. I'll be mixing together a little bit of a lot of things here, drawing from novels, comics, and the aforementioned cartoons as I see fit. Some characters will seem very different because of that, but… well, blame the old Lucasfilm crew for not keeping their stories straight? And if you're racking your brain trying to figure out where Hiskari came from, she's an original character. She was first created to add an extraordinarily inhuman presence to _Carry You Home_ , and has gone through a few revisions over the years as she's appeared in different stories. Still mine, though.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

"Made exceptions in the past, we have. Yet called before the Council, you are again. Resolved for good, I declare this issue must now be."

Cordelia Chase rolled her eyes before turning her head and pointedly staring out one of the massive windows of the High Council Chamber, preferring the view of the Coruscanti cityscape over the accusing gazes of those she'd been called before. When the Powers-That-Kept-Screwing-Her-Over had offered to reincarnate her in another universe as an apology for that whole Jasmine debacle and the final death of her body on Earth, she'd jumped at the chance. Because honestly, at least in her opinion? Finding out that the Judeo-Christian, paradisal afterlife was really what came after death had been a hell of a disappointment. All white and glowy and peaceful? Who in their right mind would want to spend all of eternity doing something so… well, boring? There was no point to it. Sitting around all day, watching the living. Ugh. It was like a soap opera with even worse actors than a real soap opera. Hell, even telenovelas rated higher in her none too humble opinion, and she couldn't even speak Spanish. And what was the use of being able to see the newest fashions before they hit the runways if she wasn't even corporeal enough to buy them?

The Powers had claimed that it was a 'reward' and so she'd assumed that they weren't going to send her to Vampire Willow's universe or anything. Which was part of why she'd agreed; with that theoretically taken off the table, what was the worst that could happen to her? A trip to the infamous world without shrimp? And unless they sent her to something really 'alternate', chances were that she'd get to see all of her friends again, albeit slightly differently than she remembered. So she'd said yes.

Evidently, though, she'd been mistaken in her assumption that 'another' universe meant an 'alternate' universe. Because that would have been too simple and logical. Instead, the Powers had packed her up and shipped her off to literally another universe entirely, reincarnating her as a teenage girl on a strange new planet in a galaxy that definitely wasn't the Milky Way. The kicker? She'd still managed to end up as part of her new home's main group of do-gooders… who happened to be emotionally repressed to a degree that would make Angel in his broodiest phase seem extroverted.

To top it off, they had the worst fashion sense out of anyone she'd ever met, and that took some doing compared to the motley crew of companions that she'd had back in Los Angeles: a vampire who couldn't see his own reflection to see how awful he looked sometimes, a former watcher trying far too hard to seem rebellious, a half-demon, a street rat, and a girl who liked to hole up in her room and write on the walls. But giving the Order a makeover - or at least breaking them of their mad-on for various, utterly unflattering shades of brown - was a matter for another day, when she wasn't getting bitched at by the Council for having fun. Again. "I still don't see the problem. She wanted to have sex in the training room, I obviously wanted it, we're both legal adults, we locked the doors to keep impressionable young eyes away…"

"And yet despite your best attempts, you were discovered." Adi Gallia tilted her head and regarded Cordelia with the eerily dispassionate look the brunette was becoming all too familiar with seeing on the faces of the older Jedi. Honestly, she knew they were annoyed with her. Who did they think they were fooling by busting out their best statue imitations? "Do you remember why?"

Cordelia blushed faintly and nodded. To be fair, though, while she had the memories of a eighteen-year-old who had been raised in the Jedi Temple since she was an infant? She wasn't actually one, and so she regularly slipped and thought like a normal human girl rather than a Force-sensitive one. Which in turn had caused her normally detail-oriented mind to overlook something that should have been incredibly obvious, and would have been to any of her peers. Although Hiskari hadn't thought of it either, which made her feel slightly better? "We forgot to shield ourselves, and so we ended up broadcasting… stuff. To people."

Steepling his fingers beneath his chin, Mace Windu arched an eyebrow at her words but otherwise remained impassive as he stared down at you. "An understatement if I've ever heard one, Padawan Chase. Nearly a quarter of the Temple was exposed to your 'broadcast', including a large number of younglings. Younglings who now have many questions… that you are going to be stuck answering. Assuming that you can convince us not to expel you from the Order, that is." They were going to make her teach Sex Ed to little Jedi-to-be? That was… harsh but fair, she conceded. Hmm. Considering what the alien-to-human ratio was like in the Order, she should probably bone up on her non-human anatomy and mating practices. Heh. Bone up. Wink wink, nudge nudge. "Attachment is forbidden. Your relationship violates the Jedi Code, and we have already spoken to you once about the matter. Yet you and Padawan Dorset continue to grow closer. Your failure to deal with the situation of your own accord means that we are now forced to address the matter for you."

Yes, and Cordelia was sure that it was a hardship for the Samuel L. Jackson lookalike. He'd had it out for her ever since that time that she'd convinced one of the Temple astromechs to load a crate of snakes onto his _Eta_ -class shuttle to see how he dealt with the 'motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking ship'. Which had ended with him plowing the poor craft into the side of an equally innocent _Arquitens_ -class light cruiser. Nobody had walked away from that one happy, especially Cordelia. She'd spent good money on those snakes, and he'd gone and gotten them killed. Ugh. Loser. And besides… "Please, like you're actually going to kick me out of your little club. I've got a midi-chlorian count of seventeen thousand, and enough training under my belt to be a serious pain in your asses if I was allowed to roam free. Oh yeah, and there's that whole part about me being incarnated directly as one of your padawans. I'm literally a gift from the Force."

"Return you, I wish we could." It was only her years of learning to listen very careful for signs of sneaking vampires that let Cordelia pick up Yoda's muttered complaint. Raising his voice to normal levels, he continued. "Aware of your unique origin, we are. Saddled with your presence, the Jedi Order very well may be. Sound, your reasoning is. Yet… with Padawan Dorset, inappropriate your behavior is. Stop it, you must. Required in the Order, her presence is not."

It took Cordelia a few seconds to translate that from gnome-speak to Basic, and then her eyes narrowed. "So what, you know you can't get rid of me so instead you're going to threaten to kick Hiskari out if we continue to see each other?" After a few seconds, she realized exactly why the idea bothered her so much - apart from the obvious, of course - and fixed Yoda with an indignant look. "Wait. I can think of at least two-dozen different padawans I've caught getting horizontal with each other. Why haven't I heard about any of them getting called before you so you can bitch at them?"

The gathered Jedi Masters shifted as they exchanged looks, their unease easy for Cordelia to detect through her increasingly refined connection to the Force. Whatever the answer was, clearly none of them wanted to be the one stuck voicing it. Finally, Shaak Ti let out a low growl of annoyance and broke the silence. "To be a Jedi does not require you to be celibate, Jedi Chase. It is solely attachment that's forbidden."

"Woah woah woah. Wait a minute. Are you serious?" Cordelia held up her hand as she stared at Shaak Ti in disbelief, trying to figure out whether the Togruta meant what Cordelia thought she meant. Because if she was hearing things right… she'd quite possibly stumbled onto the perfect Get Out of Jail Free card for her and Hiskari. Or - failing that - her sex life was going to be a lot more interesting from here on out. "So you're telling me that I can have sex with other Jedi - and presumably other non-Jedi too - as long as I don't date any of them? Or fall in love, obviously? That's the message here?" Shaak Ti just gave her a grin full of sharp teeth even as the other masters suddenly found the world outside the chamber's windows fascinating. "That… is… fucking… awesome! Pun totally intended. Holy shit. I feel like I should make a To-Do List so I don't forget anyone. All right, give me a second… let me think… okay. I have a plan. As soon as you dismiss me, you guys can call Hiskari up here, read her the riot act, and kick her out of the Order. It'll be a lot easier than me figuring out how to dump her."

Eleven other heads snapped to stare at her so fast Cordelia was worried they'd all get whiplash. "Your abrupt reversal of opinion on this matter is… unsettling. And a 'To-Do List'?" Mace looked vaguely discomfited by the phrase; while Cordelia assumed that the term was familiar to him, he was at least smart enough to realize that she wasn't talking about it in the traditional sense. "What exactly do you mean?"

Cordelia clapped her hands together as she looked around the room, grinning widely. "Do you know how many amazingly hot padawans you have running around the Temple right now? Both guys and girls? With the exercise program you've got us all on, you could probably run the galaxy's top modeling agency. If I'd known that dating was taboo but sleeping around was cool with you guys, I would have started bed-hopping a long, long time ago. I mean, I know Master Ti's got an adorable Mini-Me running around, I've met a lot of guys here who are positively gorgeous, and there are at least five different flavors of Twi'lek in the Temple right now. Maybe I'll go taste the rainbow." By now the masters were all looking incredibly uncomfortable, but Cordelia decided to go for the kill by making things personal. "Or… why waste my time on a bad copy when I can have the original? Master Ti, there's this Corellian restaurant I've been wanting to go off-grounds to visit ever since I began reading about galactic cuisine. Since I'm still a padawan, I'm not allowed to leave without an escort. What are you doing tomorrow evening?"

"In the past, we have made exceptions for your living quarters, your education, and your desire to embrace current galactic fashions instead of traditional robes." Eeth Koth closed his eyes for a moment, head tilted to one side, before opening them against to stare at her. "I'm believe that in light of the relevant new information you've brought before the Council regarding your case, we should make another exception for your relationship with Padawan Dorset, just as Master Mundi has received special dispensation regarding his wives due to the nature of Cerean society. All in favor?" His hand and eleven others shot up into the air. "All opposed?" None. "I believe the matter has been resolved. You're dismissed."

Bouncing up and down on her toes a few times, Cordelia grinned. "Now was that so hard? If you'd just figured that out the last time we had this conversation, we could have saved us all some time." Looking around, Cordelia waited but nobody spoke up to dismiss her and so she jerked her thumb back over her shoulder toward the turbolift. "Well, I should probably get back. You guys pulled me out of a training session. An actual one that is, not one of my fun little 'training sessions' with Hiskari. This was fun. We should to it again sometime." Before one of the masters could answer, she hustled over to the turbolift. Pressing the right button, she gave the assembly a wide smile before disappearing from view.

* * *

"Tricked, I believe we were." Yoda frowned as he turned his hover chair to face the shadowy alcove behind him. "Ashamed, I feel."

A figure emerged from the darkness, cloaked in the standard brown robes of a Jedi. "Hiskari Dorset is my padawan. At least with the present situation, Jedi Chase's impropriety is contained to just one other member of the Order." J'Mikel gestured to Eeth Koth, then Shaak Ti. "I personally believe we should choose to look at this outcome as a victory; I've seen her looking at your Padawan Tod, Master Koth, to say nothing of the individuals she mentioned outright. If we had to choose, would you rather see Jedi Chase with Padawan Dorset or hopping from padawan to padawan and infecting others with her bizarre ideals and vocabulary?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Most certainly not."

"A good point do you have."

"I find myself… conflicted. I actually have been meaning to visit the restaurant that Jedi Chase mentioned, and having someone to pick up the tab for me would have been nice." All attention turned to Shaak Ti, who merely shrugged. "Given that none of her income-earning ventures actually violate the rules of our order, we have been unable to forbid her from engaging in them and her personal wealth continues to grow. It would have been easier for me to take advantage of that, rather than justifying my need to requisition Republic credits from the Temple quartermaster so that I can dine out some night."


	2. A Celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** For the record, while this story may indeed become a 'Cordy Does Coruscant' story at some point, in the same vein of so many male-centric crossovers that result in the Gary Stu of the author's choice bedding every single woman from the fandom that the author finds even moderately attractive? Cordelia's solution to the crisis facing herself and Hiskari was her using the rigid morality of the Jedi against them, nothing more. Is this version of Cordelia flirty? Yes. In possession of a dirty sense of humor, especially compared to the emotionally repressed Jedi? Yes. Mischievous and manipulative? Yes and you betcha. But a slut? No.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

Descending to her desired floor, Cordelia emerged from the turbolift and broke into a smile at the very familiar figure waiting for her. The brunette shook her head in amusement; her girlfriend - she supposed it was truly official now that they had dispensation from the High Council to be together until they split of their own volition - had a bad habit of camping out in areas she knew Cordelia had to pass through so that she could waylay Cordelia for hugs, kisses, and other adorable displays of public affection. It was one of the many things that would have normally turned her off romantically but only managed to seem cute when it came to Hiskari Dorset.

Like, well, Hiskari herself. Before her reincarnation adventure, Cordelia had been strictly about the humans… emphasis 'mans'. Demons were more Xander and Buffy's thing than hers, while girls were Willow's domain. Well, if she was honest with herself, Cordelia had been starting to fall for Doyle when he died… but he didn't really count, being a half-demon and a human-passing one at that. She also didn't count her two bouts of freaky demonic pregnancy because hey, lack of consent and all that. Didn't really count in a discussion about her choices, now did they? In her new life, on the other hand, the weird-looking beings that surrounded her were aliens rather than demons, and even that wasn't always true. While Hiskari was about as similar to Cordelia genetically as a squid was to a human, there were a whole bunch of cute near-human species who possessed horns, odd skin tones, spots, or other significant differences despite being only a tiny bit different from a baseline human DNA-wise.

Cordelia was still amused by the fact that the Powers had quite literally dropped her into Hiskari's bed. She would probably never know if it was a random place they'd chosen to materialize her new body or if they'd been trying to play matchmaker… but either way, it's where she'd appeared out of thin air when she arrived two years ago in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The security logs - and how creepy was it that they watched each other sleep? - showed Hiskari slipping into her tank and sleeping alone for several hours, before suddenly finding herself wrapped in the arms of the newly-reincarnated Cordelia. Hiskari had awoken seconds after that on account of Cordelia's thrashing and flailing after inhaling water, leading to copious amounts of shouting and some threatening. Then had come tests out the wazoo and a whole bunch of arguing between the members of the High Council. Eventually, though, they'd arrived at a consensus and informed Cordelia that she'd be staying in the Temple.

It hadn't been until six months after Cordelia's arrival that Hiskari had been able to talk to her without blushing, stammering, and fleeing à la high school Willow. Even then, it had taken another month of regular conversations and hanging out - a concept that Cordelia had actually found herself needing to introduce her fellow teenagers to - before Hiskari had been able to step forward and confess that she felt a bond with Cordelia. That had inspired a few long brooding sessions on the brunette's part before she'd come to the conclusion that Hiskari was someone that she really enjoyed spending time with and that if she could find alien men attractive, what was wrong with being attracted to alien women? Once she'd made that decision, the vaunted Jedi Code was never an obstacle. Her reincarnation had changed several things about her, but at her core? She was still Cordelia Chase. She didn't follow the masses, she was the one at the front of the pack giving them directions.

They certainly made for the oddest-looking couple in the Temple, that was for damn sure. Cordelia had been given back her original body - or something close enough to it that she couldn't tell the difference - and had finally grown back to her official DMV height of a hair over five feet, seven inches. Her skin had slowly but surely paled as she spent more time in the Temple than outside soaking up Coruscant Prime's rays, making her dark hair and eyes appear even more striking. Even more striking because… well, she was just as voluptuous in this life as her last. Combining that with the snug outfits she preferred was enough to make her stand out among a group of people who favored ugly brown robes, unflattering haircuts, and overall androgyny.

Hiskari, on the other hand, definitely wasn't beautiful by human standards. Even Cordelia was honest enough to admit that her girlfriend looked like the unholy lovechild of a human, a Rowell alien, and a squid. But for some reason that continued to elude her, Cordelia had come to find the long, sleek lines of Hiskari's body to be beautiful. Sure, kissing her girlfriend's neck and getting a mouthful of gills had been ubercreepy before she learned to aim higher, and those bulbous red eyes were unsettling to have staring at her when she was in trouble. And Hiskari was a bit shorter and a good deal more petite than Cordelia was, meaning they couldn't share outfits if they wanted to. But that was okay with her these days. It'd taken several years and a half-demon love interest, but Cordelia had finally learned to appreciate people for what was on the inside instead of the outside. Even if the outside had headtresses, webbed hands, and gills. The only thing she really had to worry about was making sure she didn't buy anything that clashed with her girlfriend's pale blue skin tone, but other than that, things were copacetic.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Cordelia returned her attention to the Nautolan and raised an eyebrow. "You know, waiting places you know I'm going to be? So not the way to prove to the Council that we're not attached to each other." She made sure to soften her words with a smile, just in case her girlfriend missed the whole concept of 'teasing' again.

Evidently Hiskari got it, though, grinning back at Cordelia even as she twiddled her webbed fingers nervously. "Considering it was my idea that got us in trouble, I wanted to find out what was going on." Reaching up to fiddle with the tip of one headtress, she nibbled on her lower lip as she stared up at Cordelia and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, the vaunted Jedi calm cracked and she started getting visibly impatient. "So, what's going on?"

"Oh, the usual High Council whining." Cordelia waved her hand back in the direction of the turbolift dismissively. "Attachment is bad, you need to learn better emotional control before Hiskari leads you down a dark path, we know we can't get rid of you so maybe we should throw your girlfriend out of the Order…" Hiskari displayed one of the few physical tells that she shared with humans then, the blood draining from her face and shifting her skin from a pale blue color to pasty white. "…and then Master Ti either made a huge mistake or threw me a bone, I still can't figure out which. I asked what the big deal was, since I've walked in on other pairs of padawans and we're the only one they're complaining about, and she let slip that it was our relationship that bothered them and not the actual sex. The emotional, not the physical. And so I might have mentioned that if you were gone, I'd sleep my way through most of the other padawans. Of both genders. And maybe Master Ti herself."

Hiskari gasped. "You didn't."

Grinning, Cordelia buffed her fingernails against her navy jumpsuit. "I so did. Empty threat because I was never into the whole 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' thing in my old life and I'm not about to start now… but they didn't know that. And it freaked them out enough that Master Koth decided to jump in on our behalf. He pointed out that since they're pretty much stuck with me, if the alternative is me running wild and corrupting other padawans? Maybe a few knights or even a master? It made a lot more sense to give the two of us an exception. Basically, they've declared that they're going to sacrifice you to keep me contained. Which means that in a roundabout way, they're officially cool with us now."

"You rock!" Hiskari squealed, launching herself at Cordelia and wrapping her legs around the taller girl's waist. Cordelia laughed and hugged Hiskari back, enjoying the smaller girl's furnace-like warmth. She still marveled sometimes at how much she'd managed to rub off on Hiskari in their time together, both in terms of vocabulary and mannerisms. Most of the Jedi were physically standoffish and spoke like a college English textbook, but she'd managed to 'fix' Hiskari with some time and determination. Leaning in, Hiskari pressed her lips against Cordelia's briefly before pulling back. "So, they just sent you on your way? No punishments like, say, taking away your private quarters?"

Cordelia raised an eyebrow at the not-actually-a-random question. "Um, no? I'm the Girl-With-No-Master, dear. Where else would they put me, especially since they're trying to keep me away from impressionable young minds? Although speaking of punishment… if you think about it, you're kinda beyond the reach of the Code now too. And the Council. I mean, if you ever do something bad enough that they threaten to give you the boot? You can just smirk and slide that whole 'Cordy will sleep her way through the Temple and corrupt your precious Order' thing back out there. Because hey, evidently nothing is scarier than people having some fun around here. But like I was saying… you're untouchable. Because you're touchable. Wink wink. I'm gonna buy you so much stuff. Real clothes. Jewelry. Random aquatic stuff that looks cool. Oh! One of my designers has been wanting to talk to you ever since you came with me to that one fitting; evidently they're looking to expand into aquatic and amphibious fashions and would love to bring you aboard as an official model for those designs." Suddenly, her mind drifted back to Hiskari's original question and she took in the little smirk gracing her girlfriend's face. "…why?"

Letting out a disbelieving chuckle, Hiskari brought one hand up and gave Cordelia a gentle swat upside the head. "To quote you? 'Um, duh!' We just got the kind of exception that's handed out to maybe one Jedi in a thousand. Five thousand. Ten thousand? I have no idea exactly how many Jedi there are right now, but I only know of two who are openly allowed to be in a relationship. Cereans, both of them, which means that they only have it because of the low birth rate problem that their species suffers from. Which makes what we were just given incredibly special and important." Leaning in, she bit down on Cordelia's lower lip and tugged it gently as she pulled back, releasing it before winking at the brunette. "I was thinking we should go celebrate. Just wanted to make sure we had somewhere to go to."

"Oh please, like whether or not my room is available has ever slowed us down in the past." Cordelia gently patted her girlfriend on the ass, Hiskari obediently unwinding her legs and dropping to stand on her own two feet. The Nautolan immediately grabbed Cordelia's hand and began tugging her down the hallway, Cordelia's longer legs allowing her to keep up easily. The two passed Aayla Secura in the hall, the Rutian Twi'lek giving Cordelia a smirk and a knowing look as she slipped by, flashing three fingers at the brunette who nodded in agreement before turning her attention back to Hiskari. "At any rate… what exactly did you have in mind for this 'celebration'?"

Hiskari peered up at Cordelia and her pale blue skin flushed an almost sapphire color in two spots high up on her cheeks as she pulled her hand out of Cordelia's grasp, pulling it up into the flowing sleeve of her brown outer robe for a moment before emerging with… a trio of shiny metal balls? What..? "What would you say to me, you, a few of these, and some… um… creative telekinesis practice?"

Wow. Considering the source, that was a shockingly naughty suggestion. Cordelia grinned widely. She was such a good influence on Hiskari. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to the top of the Nautolan's head, right at the base of one headtress. "Well, Master Windu did say I needed to work on my control of multiple objects." Although… Cordelia looked back over her shoulder, only to find Aayla long gone. Damn. Maybe she should have told the Twi'lek she needed to reschedule entirely instead of just pushing their practice back a few hours?


	3. A Smackdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** Going through this chapter, I fixed a whole bunch of tiny plot holes or generally illogical bits, such as why Hiskari - who is slightly younger than Cordelia - would have a fully functional, ceremony-forged lightsaber when Cordelia didn't? How could someone with training sabers spar with someone with a full-fledged lightsaber without getting seriously injured? Why was Cordelia training with Aayla Secura despite access to older and more knowledgeable Jedi? Apart from 'because she's blue and hot', that is? Also, keep in mind that this and other chapters will use the more loose and open version of Aayla that we see in the books and comics, as opposed to the version seen in _The Clone Wars_. Still don't know why they did that; couldn't they have created another Twi'lek Jedi if they wanted that kind of character? It's not like they weren't creating strong women by the truckload or anything…  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

Exactly two hours and fifty-four minutes later, Cordelia came breezing out of the refresher as she tugged the zipper of her sapphire jumpsuit upward, crossing the room so that she could retrieve a matching cloak from the closet. Hiskari was already dressed and waiting for her; given that it was an odd-numbered day, her girlfriend had also taken care of cleaning up the mess left behind by their enthusiastic lovemaking. To be honest, Cordelia was kinda surprised that the shower wasn't the source of more arguments; evidently, it wasn't so much the water itself as the feeling of being submerged that called to Hiskari and so the Nautolan tended not to linger. Baths, on the other hand…

After spending a few more minutes making sure her hair was presentable and her tasteful amount of makeup looked good, Cordelia grabbed Hiskari's hand and interlaced their fingers as she led the smaller girl out of her quarters. Given the size of the Temple, it took them nearly twenty minutes to travel from the accommodation sector in the northeast corner of the ziggurat to their preferred lightsaber practice room in the southwest quarter. As they entered the room, Cordelia's mood abruptly plummeted as she found someone other than Aayla waiting for her. Someone she really wasn't in the mood to see. Before she could turn around and walk back out, though, Anakin Skywalker got his last swing in and shot a scowl back over his shoulder at them as he deactivated the remotes he was training with. "Just what I needed to make my night complete. A visit from the Dyke Side."

Who would have thought that teaching various slurs to this universe's do-gooders would ever come back to bite her on the ass? Refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he affected her, Cordelia forced a bright smile onto her face as she walked deeper into the room. "Aww. Cheer the fuck up, little emo boy. You're still the Chosen One. The Council kisses your ass even if they're busy staring at mine." Shrugging off her cloak, she used the Force to float it over onto a hook on the wall. "You going to clear out or do you wanna be my practice dummy for the night?"

Blinking a few times, Anakin opted to skip back a sentence in the conversation rather than answer her question. "I doubt that any of the masters on the Council - or any Jedi other than your pet squid - spend time admiring your posterior."

Cordelia laughed as she turned away from Anakin, before peeking back over her shoulder and bringing one hand down hard on her right ass cheek. "Please, look at the crap that most of the girls around here have to wear. Then add in that I'm really, really fucking hot and even Master Windu peeks when I bend over. As much as he hates my guts, he evidently can't help loving this butt." Straightening up, she turned back to face him and gestured at the still-ignited lightsaber in his hand. "So… staying or going, Emokin?"

"Uh… whah… huh?" It took Anakin's eyes several seconds to remember where her face was, making Cordelia sigh. She hadn't meant to break the little reject's brain, just have a little fun at his expense. "What was the question?"

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia gave him a very mild push with the Force. "Focus, Anakin. On something other than my admittedly fine posterior, that is. Are you staying or going?"

Anakin grunted and stumbled back a step from her push before narrowing his eyes at her. "I was going to leave, but it's not like I need to be anywhere. So I suppose I can afford to waste some time on you tonight." With a casual wave of his hand, he sent the remotes drifting across the room to clear the mat for them before making a beckoning gesture. Cordelia smirked; she hadn't expected any less of Anakin. They'd begun what was now a series of regular duels when she arrived at the Jedi Temple two years ago, and to date she was maintaining a win-loss ratio pretty close to fifty-fifty. Which she imagined was probably rather distressing to Anakin, given he supposedly was the best and brightest of their generation.

If he'd been even slightly less egotistical, maybe he would have realized that Cordelia had been handed an incredibly unfair advantage by way of her method of incarnation. Save for those like Anakin who had joined the Order 'late' in life, most Jedi were found as infants, raised in the Temple as part of a youngling clan, and then selected to be trained as the padawan of a singular knight or master. Cordelia, on the other hand, had been dumped into her new life with the semantic memories to cover the time she would have spent growing up in the Temple, but no episodic memories of being part of a youngling clan and then someone's padawan. And since her arrival had neither displaced another padawan nor resurrected a knight or master from the dead, it had put the High Council in a difficult position: she was far too powerful and skilled to be dumped into the service corps, but not yet fully trained enough to attempt the Trials of Knighthood.

Eventually, they'd settled on turning her into what Cordelia had nicknamed a 'timeshare padawan', passing her back and forth between various experienced Jedi as their schedules and her learning needs dictated. What that meant for her was that she could learn anything she wanted from a Jedi who was exceptionally skilled at it… including lightsaber combat. Regular padawans were limited by what their master knew or if Cin Drallig could make time for them, while her options were relatively limitless. After careful study, Cordelia had concluded that Anakin had the right idea - not that she'd ever tell him such a thing - and had begun working on a hybrid style of her very own. Combining her training in Makashi under Shaak Ti with the Shien she was learning with Aayla, she'd managed to create what she was rather unoriginally called Makashien: peace through artfully-directed firepower. Anakin's own hybrid of Ataru and Djem So actually made him the perfect opponent for refining her technique, and their fights were a lot like the two of them in general in her estimation: she was the elegant brains while Anakin was the arrogant brawn. Her goal was to slip through his defenses, while his was to batter her into submission.

Sometimes she succeeded.

Sometimes she failed.

And once, she'd gotten frustrated and used telekinesis to concuss him with a training remote.

They were calling that one a draw.

Cordelia drew the twin training sabers that she was still stuck with, sighing as she ignited their awful blue blades. That was one of the few downsides to her current situation: her lack of an official master meant there was nobody to take her to Ilum for the ceremonies connected to the construction of a padawan's first real lightsaber. Or two real lightsabers in her case. She really needed to talk to someone about that one of the days, she mused. Maybe Shaak Ti would take her? According to the Togruta, the lack of curved hilts was keeping her from truly mastering certain Makashi techniques. Filing that away to handle later, she waited for Anakin to finish setting his own saber to training mode before planting her feet a shoulder's width apart and slipping into her modified Makashi opening stance with both sabers held in a low guard position. "Ready?"

"I'm not going to lie, I'm surprised that you didn't ask your girlfriend to modify your saber like she did hers." Taking a step to his right, Anakin began to circle around Cordelia. "Still don't understand why she gets to have a special color of lightsaber crystal, especially since she's still using a youngling saber like you…"

Cordelia just rolled her eyes at the repetition of one of his favorite complains as she began circling the mat as well, starting the slow dance that was a prelude to all of their spars. "Hiskari earned her Veda pearls on a mission to Naboo with Master J'Mikel. It's not like you've never walked away from an adventure with a prize. She's just better at taking care of her toys than you are. Cough _Jabitha_ cough."

Lunging forward, Anakin delivered a series of fierce slashes that were telegraphed so obviously that Helen Keller could have deflected them. It was a bit of a bitch move, Cordelia thought with a smirk, bringing up the living ship that Anakin had gotten killed… but it was a great way to mess with his head. Her opponent backed off for a few seconds before closing the gap between them again so that he could test her defenses with a few more slashes. "So, everyone's talking about how you got called in front of the High Council again over the squid girl. Why do you keep risking your place here over her? Not that I'd mind if I woke up one morning and found you gone, but she's not even the same species as us."

"Yes, well, lucky for me? I acquired a taste for sushi back when I was living on Earth." Twirling her sabers, Cordelia lunged forward and brought both glowing blades upward in a move that would have bisected Anakin vertically had he not jumped back. Well, if he hadn't jumped back and if she'd had real lightsabers. Rather than counterattack, though, he just stood there staring at her oddly. "What?"

Anakin just shook his head in disbelief. "Does anything that comes out of your mouth ever make sense?"

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia twirled as she lunged forward again, utilizing both sabers to deliver a series of slashes over a variety of heights and forcing the supposed Chosen One to contort his body wildly to avoid getting burned by her blades. She ended her flurry of strikes with a pair of strokes that boxed him in and forced him to make a Force-assisted jump up over her head and to safety. "Sushi is a way of serving raw fish back where I come from. I was making a double entendre and implying that…" Turning to face her opponent, she let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "You know what, never mind. My wit is so wasted on you. Come back and I'll explain it when you're older."

Even as Hiskari snickered at the brunette's flippant answer, Anakin let out a growl and lunged at Cordelia. His blue blade slashed at her ankles first and then he whirled around in one fluid motion to send a second attack at her neck. A slightly more clumsy version of one of her own attack chains, Cordelia realized as she used the Force to launch herself up into the air, floating above both slashes before backflipping and touching back down gently on the mat. Bringing both blades up to soak up the next overpowered slash, Cordelia clucked her tongue before planting her foot against his stomach and forcing him back. "Sloppy. Hiskari's got better technique and she's younger than you."

"From what Barriss tells me, I've got better technique than Anakin in more ways than one."

The way his eyes narrowed told Cordelia that Hiskari's barb had hit its mark and then Anakin was rushing toward her again, only to end up deflected past the brunette thanks to a quick step to the left combined with a spin of the saber in her right hand. Cordelia whirled around as he passed, utilizing a trick that Hiskari had taught her to give him an extra shove with the Force without relying on the traditional mnemonic gesture that most Jedi used. Even further unbalanced by her telekinetic nudge, Anakin stumbled forward for several steps before coming to a stop and straightening up. His scowl growing as Hiskari let out a louder snicker, he slipped back into a ready stance before resuming his slow circling of her. "I still can't believe that you're putting all this effort into learning the galaxy's most useless form of lightsaber combat."

"How do you figure?" Cordelia took a few quick steps towards him, spinning her lightsabers twice before thrusting both blades at his hands. It wasn't a move she'd be able to rely on once she transitioned to real lightsabers but in training, welts and burns to the hands, wrists, or forearms was a really good way to get someone to drop their saber and end a match. "It's not like I have a master to go on missions with. I'm stuck inside the Temple except for my piloting classes, and even then I've only left orbit twice during Hyperdrive 101. My only joy is beating up on little twerps like you. It makes perfect sense to master the form that's best for saber-to-saber combat, instead of one meant to deflect blaster bolts that I never get shot at me."

There was no reply from Anakin, just a sweeping deflection of both her blades followed by another powerful swing at her. Cordelia blocked it just as easily as the others, and the duel continued on. Back and forth the battle went, until she brought her lightsabers up to form an X, catching his blade between them on a downward slash. Sparks rained down around her as the trio of blue blades hissed and struggled against each other. Stronger than her both physically and with the Force, Anakin inevitably began forcing her blades back toward her… and then his eyes widened a bit and he faltered. Cordelia managed to regain a bit of ground before he recovered and leaned into the stroke again, only to falter again after a few seconds.

The cycle repeated itself a few more times, Cordelia pressing him back a little further each time before he recovered. After the fifth repetition, Cordelia finally realized what was going on. Unlike most of the Temple's other residents, she favored carefully coordinated jumpsuits and cloaks in jewel tones… jumpsuits with fairly daring necklines. With his greater height, he was getting an eyeful of her cleavage each time he pressed his attack!

"You should be watching your opponent's eyes. Her real eyes, that is." Cordelia let him get another peek before pushing him back and driving her right knee up into his crotch roughly. His breath leaving him in a loud huff, Anakin fell backward onto the mat before whimpering and curling into a ball. "God, and you people wonder why I went for Hiskari instead of a boyfriend. At least she knows where my face is."

A low, throaty chuckle came from one corner of the room and Cordelia glanced over to find that her girlfriend had acquired a taller, rather familiar blue shadow. Pushing off the wall, Aayla grinned impishly at the brunette as she closed the distance between them. "Is that so?"

Cordelia pondered that for a moment before shrugging. "Among other reasons that don't need to be shared with impressionable young minds like Anakin's." Laughing loudly at that, Aayla waved her hand and used the Force to slide Anakin across the mat until he came to rest at the base of the wall. "So, are we finally going to..?"

"You seem to be doing fine without it, but yes. Tonight we'll officially be starting Jar'Kai. As long as you promise not to start calling your combat style Ma'kaishien or something equally ridiculous." Aayla reached down and unhooked a pair of lightsabers, switching them to the training setting before igniting the blue blades. "The use of two blades - one to support the other - can be traced back thousands of years and was common to both of our species. The invention of lightsabers has done nothing to lessen the effectiveness of this strategy… as you are about to learn."


	4. Planting Seeds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** When I began decompressing the timeline in my story so that the early chapters spanned a few years before the start of the Clone Wars, I decided that I'd use some of that time to lay the groundwork for Cordelia's Valkyrie initiative. Namely, I wanted to show the genesis of the entire thing and explore why - apart from the fact that she's used to having minions to boss around to suit her whims - she might do such a thing. Also, I wanted there to be more to some of her later decisions than simple enlightened self-interest. This chapter addresses the former desire. The next one will tackle the latter. Enjoy.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Howard, Samuel, Alexander, Tibor, Alonsis2, Daniel, Beverly, Daniel, Jade, Robert, Kimeru, Charles, Crygon20, Subtle, Christopher, Stephen, Fablesrogue, Morgan, Janne, Joseph, Jason, bloodylord, Marc, Ziryo, Leigh, Chris, George, Koby, William, Dale, Dimitria, Haematite, Mauday, Ken, Paul, Pat, Edward, Roman, Warren, and Jess for sponsoring me on Patreon, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

"It's been roughly three weeks since I forwarded the files that you requested, Padawan. Files that - might I add - you currently aren't cleared to see and likely never will be. But since I did in fact allow my curiosity to get the better of me, and granted you access in hopes of benefiting from your… unique perspective? I find myself wondering if you've reached any interesting conclusions yet."

"The Order lacks conviction." Lunging forward to close the distance between them, Cordelia nimbly twisted out of the way of Shaak Ti's probing thrust, turning into the move to gather momentum and slash hard at the Togruta's side with both her lightsabers. Nonchalantly bringing her blue blade up to intercept the attack, Shaak Ti arched a brow curiously as their sabers locked. "We're supposedly an order of peacekeepers, healers, diplomats, et cetera and so forth. And as far as I can tell, we're also supposed to be impartial and transcend the petty politics of the Republic. Yet we stumble along, sticking our noses where they don't belong… and then refusing to do what needs to be done once we have."

Breaking the impasse, Shaak Ti took a Force-assisted leap backward to open up some space between them, fluidly slipping from a Makashi stance into what Cordelia recognized as an Ataru ready stance from her spars with Anakin. "While I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment, especially after spending the last year as a member of the High Council… I find myself curious how this particular revelation of yours relates to the events in question."

Cordelia took a moment to study her opponent, trying to figure out the best course of action. While she was adept enough at both Makashi and Shien, she was still barely passable at incorporating a second saber into either form's techniques or stances. Against Anakin's blend of Ataru and Djem So, she could hold her own. Against a master's skill with Ataru, she didn't have a chance; Shaak Ti would be able to penetrate her defenses at a whim and relieve Cordelia of one lightsaber and then the other in short order. At the same time, Cordelia's pride wouldn't allow her to surrender without a fight, leaving her with quite a conundrum.

Hoping to buy herself precious time to figure out her next course of action, Cordelia meet Shaak Ti's gaze before nodding unerringly in the direction of the massive cluster of lifeforms that was the Senate Rotunda. "For starters? None of it would have happened if the Jedi had the courage to do what's necessary even when it's not the same as what's right."

That earned her a contemplative look as Shaak Ti lunged forward to enter combat range again, the Torgruta's blue blade slashing out experimentally several times to test Cordelia's defenses. But before the brunette could respond with a counter attack, the older woman used the Force to leap backward out of range once more. "You're referring to the fact that the investigation turned up conclusive proof tying Granta Omega to Senator Divinian and by extension the movement to withdraw Senatorial support for the Jedi?"

"We'll discuss that movement in a bit because holy shit, do I have thoughts about that. But let's focus on the attack itself for a second. Forty-five people killed, countless others injured… because Obi-Wan and Anakin didn't do their jobs and put Omega down when they had the chance." Striding forward to close the distance between them, Cordelia used her right saber to gesture up at the ceiling even as she slashed at Shaak Ti with the left. "I mean for shit's sake, you have your Council seat because that man killed a Jedi… and yet those two couldn't find it in themselves to kill him back? And let's not even start on how many times Jenna Zan Arbor has crossed paths with the Order…"

Clearly intending to keep her opponent at a distance that evening, Shaak Ti nimbly deflected Cordelia's attack before sending the brunette stumbling back a few steps with burst of telekinetic force. "You believe then that Kenobi and Skywalker exhibited poor judgement in not killing Omega on Haariden or Mawan, or Zan Arbor when they encountered her on-"

"Vanqor, Romin, and Falleen within the past year or so, possibly other places that weren't included in the files you sent me? Yeah, kinda. Especially during the Mawan incident; Omega killed a High Council member and they didn't bring him to justice."

"Killing him would have been just in your estimation? Not petty vengeance?"

"Is justice any less served if the person who takes out a dangerous and sick fuck does it for personal reasons instead of 'the greater good'?" Cordelia did her best to keep a straight face at the contemplative expression her words elicited from Shaak Ti, waiting until the Togruta was clearly deep in thought before springing her trap. Reversing the tactic that her opponent had just used on her, Cordelia reached out with the Force and yanked Shaak Ti toward her. The briefest flash of surprise on the older woman's face as she flew forward gave Cordelia hope as she stabbed out with her twin sabers spread a shoulder's width apart, hoping to at least score a glancing blow as Shaak Ti dodged her attack. That decision left her completely vulnerable to Shaak Ti slipping neatly between the two glowing blades, bringing her legs up to kick Cordelia hard in the chest. Dropping to land in a crouch, her opponent rose gracefully even as Cordelia stumbled back a few steps before catching herself. "Jesus! Okay, new rule: no kicking me in the moneymakers. I have a shoot later this week, and I really don't want to explain why I have to reschedule on account of bruised boobs. Mostly because they'd assume it was Hiskari's fault."

Shaak Ti offered a faint smirk as she thrust her hand out, sending Cordelia stumbling backwards again before a second Force push sent her sprawling onto her ass. "Given that you've repeatedly implied - and occasionally outright stated - that I'd be welcome in your bed, I can't help but be intrigued by that statement…"

"Sometimes when a girl and a girl love each other very much, one girl puts the other girl on a leash and hits her and tells her that she's been a naughty girl who deserves punishment."

"…interesting. Something to keep in mind for the future, I suppose. Especially given that I'd be able to deliver far more forceful discipline to a padawan in need of corrective training than a slender teenage Nautolan does." Shaak Ti's smirk became a full blown grin as Cordelia's jaw dropped, the Togruta's black eyes sparkling as she cocked her hip to one side as her lightsaber hung loosely on the other. "To double back to the conversation at hand, though? For the record, I don't necessarily disagree with your thoughts on Zan Arbor in particular. I was just curious about your thought process. Sadly, the majority of the High Council seems inclined to see things differently than we do."

Cordelia deactivated her sabers so she could push herself upright, climbing to her feet before summoning them back to her hands and igniting them once more. Rather than attack, though, she waved one saber back and forth in front of herself wildly. "Wait wait wait. Undouble back. Double double back. As in, go back to the part where you just threatened to spank me harder than Hiskari does. Because you officially have my complete and undivided attention."

Doing her best to look innocent, Shaak Ti merely offered a faint shrug in response. "It wasn't a threat, padawan. Merely… something to keep in mind in the future. As is the fact that the Order forbids attachment, not dalliances." Her faint smile morphing into a smirk, the Togruta sent another telekinetic push in Cordelia's direction that the brunette manage to redirect so it flowed around her, the hem of her purple dress fluttering softly. "Although given your predilections, it might be wiser to offer such a thing as a reward for you finally forcing me to yield. It might be the motivation you need to push yourself and further hone your already formidable talents."

As a series of increasingly depraved images for how their training session might possibly conclude flitted through her mind, Cordelia shook her head to clear it. As she'd learned from the misadventure with Hiskari that had led to her appearance before the High Council, trysts in public areas were a terrible idea. So was having filthy thoughts when you were a Jedi who was being forced to multitask. And yet at the same time? "Suddenly I'm finding that I have a renewed dedication to my training." Lunging toward Shaak Ti, Cordelia did her best to draw on the limited weapons training that Wesley and Angel had given her, hoping that the switch away from one of the established Forms might give her an edge. "Going back to the original double back? If someone is trying to kill us? Or is actively killing us? I don't think we have any sort of moral imperative to take them alive. Even more so when they start killing innocents in the process. Because while I've literally never met a politician that I liked, and there's pretty good odds that some of the senators who died were corrupt and slimy? They didn't deserve to die, and neither did their aides or the guards whose greatest sin was showing up for work that day."

Soft grunts escaped Shaak Ti's lips as Cordelia's unpredictable and unknown style - at least by this universe's reckoning - actually forced the Jedi Master to go on the defensive. But even as Cordelia forced her to take step after step backward, gradually growing closer to scoring a hit on the Togruta, Shaak Ti still managed to spare enough concentration to continue their conversation. "Speaking of the senators, you mentioned earlier that you had thoughts about the reason for their session. Would you care to elaborate?"

"Me? Pass up a chance to tell someone what I think? As if!" Slipping inside of Shaak Ti's defenses, Cordelia used both of her sabers to hammer hard at the Togruta's single blade, the saber deactivating automatically as the hilt was wrenched from her grip and went spiraling off across the room. With the first part of her plan completed, Cordelia dropped her own sabers and threw herself at Shaak Ti, hoping to capitalize on the fact that hand-to-hand combat training was practically unknown amongst the Jedi. "But seriously, am I the only one who doesn't want to ignore the fact that we came within inches of losing the Senate's support for our existence as we know it? We're part of the Judicial Department; without their funding and help, we wouldn't have the Temple, our ships, our staff, food, clothes, lightsaber parts, et cetera and so forth. For people who claim to live simple lives? We really don't. And we couldn't afford our lives without the Judiciary's money."

"Says the padawan who possesses more personal property than the entire High Council put together, and maintains a very healthy credit balance at the First Bank of Coruscant."

"Damn straight I do, and I work hard for every single thing I own. If the Judiciary cut us off tomorrow, I'd be pretty much completely unaffected. The rest of you? Not so much." Cordelia let out a derisive snort as they continued to trade blows; the High Council had nothing but contempt for her side ventures, but she was the only one in the entire damn Temple who was pulling her own weight. She paid for her own clothes, her own food, her own travel… she'd even begun locally sourcing the components for her future lightsabers rather than simply requisitioning things from the Temple quartermaster. "As I was saying, though? Divinian wasn't on a one man crusade to delegitimize the Jedi Order, and there's a ten credit word that I couldn't spell if you paid me. But seriously, our recent behavior inspired a whole bunch of senators to throw their support behind him and push things to the point where there was a full Senate debate on the matter. Has anyone asked themselves… why?"

Nodding, Shaak Ti turned aside another punch only to be sent stumbling back another step as Cordelia delivered a palm strike to her chest. But whether she was drawing on the Force to bolster herself or Togruta were just plain sturdier than humans, the woman's voice remained unchanged as she responded. "While every Jedi is called upon to mediate a dispute now and again, few immerse themselves as fully within the various halls of power as I have since being knighted. And over my years of service, I've come to realize something that my brethren on the High Council seem bafflingly unable to comprehend." When Shaak Ti tried to retaliate, Cordelia twisted out of the way of the punch before slipping inside the larger woman's defenses. Snaking one arm around Shaak Ti's body, Cordelia let out a cry as she took advantage of her lower center of gravity, pulling her opponent across her body and slamming her to the floor. Before Shaak Ti could recover, Cordelia was on her, straddling the supine woman's waist and pulling her fist back to deliver the knockout blow. "I yield."

It took a few seconds for the words to penetrate Cordelia's mind, and then she began looking around suspiciously as she lowered her hand. In over a year and a half of sparring, she'd never beaten Shaak Ti. Not once. Ever. Had the answer really been as simple as going hands on the entire time? Or was she being toyed with? Wait. Did this actually count as a victory given she hadn't beaten Shaak Ti in lightsaber combat? Then her inner opportunist surged to the forefront: she was on top of a really hot older woman who she and Hiskari enjoyed flirting with, and who seemed to be slowly growing more receptive to their overtures. Leaning down, she rested her elbows on either side of Shaak Ti's head as she smirked down at her fallen foe. "So… to the victors go the spoils? That's how that works, right?"

"Could you perhaps save the flirting until after our conversation is done?"

"Can we save the conversation to be a post-coital one?"

"No."

"Damn."

Shaak Ti chuckled softly but made no move to remove Cordelia from her perch, relaxing back onto the training mat as her black eyes met Cordelia's brown orbs. "As I was saying? Power and politics are intrinsically linked because they're essentially two sides of the same credit chit. Politics is a form of power, but those with other forms of power can influence politics. Corporations, the military command structure, religions, even individuals with sufficient money and connections. The fact that the Order has power - regardless of how we've come by it - means that we're inherently a political force even if we don't want to acknowledge it. And so the Senate-"

Blinking owlishly a few times, Cordelia whistled softly to cut off Shaak Ti's monologue. "Wow, okay, that's like… a few hundred percent more philosophical than I was going for. No, I meant the fact that not only do we keep interfering with the galaxy at large time and time again despite supposedly being an impartial force of peacekeepers… but we're fucking self-righteous assholes when we do it. We just go into a situation, impose our will, and expect the galaxy to be okay with it."

"Loathe as I am to admit it, given that I've dedicated my entire life to this organization? You're entirely rightand far more insightful than I would have suspected. But when I voice such thoughts, I am gently reminded that I am new to the High Council and don't fully grasp the realities and complexities of leadership yet." Gently rolling Cordelia off onto the mat beside her, Shaak Ti rose to her feet and stretched languidly before calling her lightsaber to her hand. Clipping it to her belt, she did her best to look innocent as she shrugged. "Sadly I represent just one voice out of twelve on the High Council. The youngest voice, a voice bereft of allies and influence… at least as things currently stand. I do not know how many share my views and would rally behind me if I pushed for change, which would make any attempt to affect change… perilous at best."

While Cordelia would freely admit that she wasn't the brightest glowrod in the Temple? She was an expert at reading between the lines and finding hidden meanings. And so she offered a faint nod as she recovered her own lightsabers, before deciding that if the Togruta wanted… perhaps even needed… her help? She would have a bit of fun with it. "Maybe we can discuss this over dinner? And dessert?"

"Has anyone told you that you're incorrigible, Padawan Chase?"

"Encourageable?"

Shaak Ti let out a gusty sigh before burying her face in her hands and chuckling softly.


	5. Blossoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** And now for the second half of my characterization expansion for Cordelia going into her first meeting with Chancellor Clinton… I mean Palpatine. To make a long story short, I wanted her to go into her encounters with a mindset a bit more complex than simply 'oh shit, I don't want to die'. While Cordelia is a pragmatist at her core, she also is capable of displaying a fair degree of loyalty and so I felt like I needed to lay the groundwork for why she would jump ship to help the enemy… even if she's only pretending to do so to pit said enemy against elements of the Jedi Order that would object to the reforms she wants to make. Hopefully this chapter helps bridge the gap that existed in previous versions of the story. Enjoy.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Howard, Samuel, Alexander, Tibor, Alonsis2, Daniel, Beverly, Daniel, Jade, Robert, Kimeru, Charles, Crygon20, Subtle, Christopher, Stephen, Fablesrogue, Morgan, Janne, Joseph, Jason, bloodylord, Marc, Ziryo, Leigh, Chris, George, Koby, William, Dale, Dimitria, Haematite, Mauday, Ken, Paul, Pat, Edward, Roman, Warren, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

Trailing behind the other members of the ExplorCorps expedition to Moraband, Cordelia let out a soft chuckle as her fingers trailed over the stone wall to her left. Eyes scanning back and forth over the brown robed figures walking in front of her, she found herself idly curious who among them knew exactly where they were currently treading. Shaak Ti, obviously. The two Jedi archaeologists the Togruta had selected for their comprehensive knowledge of the Sith, undoubtedly. The accompanying members of the ExplorCorps who were largely former Initiates never selected to become padawans? Probably not. How many of them would shit their pants if they knew that dead world of Moraband was actually the mythical Korriban, and they'd been assigned to explore and catalog the ancestral home of the Sith Empire?

Most of them.

Probably all of them.

Then again, Cordelia mused, was it really fair of her to look down on any of her fellow Jedi given that they were - to a man - far more qualified to be there than she was? From the two knighted archaeologists that Shaak Ti had personally selected for this mission all the way down to the rank and file ExplorCorps members, they were all significantly more educated than she was. More adept at using the Force than her, too, in the case of the knights. And each and every one of them had a reason and a purpose for being there. Her? She was only there because Shaak Ti had become more willing to pull strings on Cordelia's behalf after some… lengthy and strenuous negotiations leading to a partnership between the two of them.

But regardless of why she was on Korriban rather than languishing away on Coruscant? Cordelia appreciated it. Not only because it was far more interesting, but because she was getting to visit somewhere awesome! Equal parts natural formation and architectural wonder, the Valley of the Dark Lords had been abandoned for going on four millennia according to the briefing packet that she'd read and yet still managed to remain an imposing monument to a long-dead people and their power. Despite the fact that said people were the enemies of the Jedi Order, Cordelia had to respect anyone who built their shit to last on that level. Although if she was being perfectly honest, that wasn't the only reason she felt a begrudging sense of respect for the Sith.

Between her four years working for Angel Investigations and the three years preceding that in Sunnydale, Cordelia had come to appreciate that life was a lot less black and white than some people wanted to believe it was. Humans could be monsters. Monsters could be heroes. Granted here, the 'monsters' were actually aliens and the supernatural didn't exist as far as she could tell… but the sentiment still counted. And so the more time she spent as a member of the Jedi Order, the less enamored Cordelia was with how conservative and narrow-minded the majority of its members were. The Force was capable of so many amazing and wondrous things, she was discovering, but her fellow Jedi seemed content to ignore a goodly number of them out of… superstition? Hidebound tradition?

Take the Valley of the Kings, for instance, or Korriban as a whole. The place was permeated with the dark side of the Force; it oozed from the walls, radiated from what little plant and animal life they'd encountered, and even the atmosphere seemed to be affected by how the dark side pervaded the entire planet. While it was obviously a Force nexus in the same vein as the 'sacred spire' atop which the Jedi Temple had been built, it felt markedly different from what Cordelia was used to on Coruscant. The Sith had done… something… to imbue themselves into their very home, creating a place where the Force held dominion over life itself and it wasn't uncommon to encounter the spirits of beings long past. If the Order did something similar, the Temple would quickly become an utterly impenetrable fortress rocking an actually useful Professor Binns effect. But they didn't. And Cordelia was willing to bet that the reason why they didn't was stupid and based primarily in 'because that's not how we do things'.

Or possibly 'because it's evil and we won't stoop to their level'.

Probably a mixture of both, to be honest.

As her fellow Jedi continued to talk amongst themselves and wander deeper into the valley, Shaak Ti presiding over the distribution of assignments, Cordelia felt a series of barely perceptible brushes against her mind before the feeling solidified into a gentle but insistent tugging. Pausing, the brunette scanned her surroundings carefully, eyes narrowing as she pinpointed where the tugging was trying to lead her: a fissure in the valley wall that she'd passed a few steps ago. Someone or something was trying to separate her from the rest of the group, probably for nefarious reasons given this was Korriban. It was clearly a trap.

Cordelia decided she was in the mood to spring it.

Pulling out her datapad, Cordelia fired off a message to Shaak Ti and waited for the Togruta to glance back at her and nod in assent before doubling back to duck into the gap. After nearly a minute of wriggling through a narrow passage that was almost too narrow for someone with her… gifts… she emerged into a cavernous but clearly man-made structure dimly lit by flickering glowrods. "Well. This isn't ominous at all."

After spending nearly a minute standing completely still as her eyes darted back and forth, waiting for someone or something to come lunging out of the shadows at her, Cordelia finally relaxed… just in time for a Force spirit to burst through the wall and catch her by surprise. The shriek that escaped her made the spirit chuckle lowly, looping around the brunette several times before drifting to a stop in front of her. Slowly but surely, the largely amorphous cloud of dark side energy coalesced into a distinctly female form. "You, little one… you have promise."

"And you, creepy one… you have some like, Ziggy Stardust shit going on." Cordelia ran an appraising eye up and down the bemused-looking Force spirit before eventually raising one hand to gesture at the long dead woman's face as she made a disgusted noise. "What the hell is that? I feel like you're supposed to be evil or seductive or probably both. That's kinda a requirement for being a powerful and notorious Sith from what I understand. But that makeup? I'm assuming that you had it back when you were still alive, which means that you had a reflection and therefore absolutely no excuse to look that bad. Yikes. Just… yikes."

Crossing her arms over her chest, the Force spirit's expression quickly morphed into disdain as she shook her head at the brunette. "Do you always mock beings capable of killing you where you stand?"

Cordelia thought about that one for a moment before shrugging. "Not always, but I'd say like… a good fifty percent of the time? Maybe as high as sixty, sixty-six percent? Finding one of those beings is a lot harder than it used to be, though; I'm a lot more powerful in this universe than I was in my original one."

"While becoming one with the Force has expanded my consciousness in ways you are wholly incapable of understanding, I'm neither omniscient nor omnipresent. Yet." After making another loop around Cordelia, the Force spirit invaded the brunette's personal space as she leaned in to peer deep into Cordelia's eyes. "I suspected you were the one I sought, but I wasn't certain until just now. What you did… I've born witness to both marvelous and terrible expressions of the Force, and a great many of both at that. But the way it practically screamed as you forced your way onto this plane… I can honestly say that I've never experienced anything like it. And I do believe that's saying something given that I'm almost a millennia old. How did you do it? Could you do it again?"

Given the fact that she'd had literally nothing to do with her reincarnation save for agreeing to what the Powers That Be had offered her? The answer to those questions were 'no idea' and 'pfft, hell no', respectively. But considering that an ancient Sith spirit had made a point of separating her from the others just so it could question her about her reincarnation? Cordelia had absolutely no intention of sharing either of those facts with the incorporeal woman. Because the Sith had a terrible poker… wait, no sabacc face. Terrible sabacc face. And so Cordelia was impossibly aware that the knowledge the spirit wanted could be used as a bargaining chip to further her own interests… and she was going to try her level best to exploit that. "Maybe. Maybe not. What's that knowledge worth to you?" As the spirit stared at her in shock, Cordelia cocked her head to the side. "For that matter, who even are you? You just sorta flew up in here expecting me to be scared or intimidated by you, but I have literally no idea who you are. Possibly because I tend to fall asleep during the history classes at the Temple, but eh."

The spirit seemed even more taken aback by the question than she had been by Cordelia's blatant opportunism, but quickly rebounded and narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "I am Darth Zannah. Sith sorceress, apprentice of Darth Bane, and one of the architects of the Order of the Sith Lords. Do you recognize me now, you ignorant child?"

"Okay, first of all? Insulting me is a really good way to get me to walk out of here and leave your incorporeal ass to haunt this worthless planet-sized graveyard of yours for the rest of eternity. Second of all, you're a lot prettier in the Archive's holograms so it's totally not my fault for not recognizing you." Cordelia ticked those first two points off on her finger before pausing as one of Zannah's titles in particular interrupted her train of thought. "Thirdly… did you say sorceress? As in someone who uses magic?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Zannah raised her chin haughtily. "My natural affinity for the dark side surpassed even my master's, allowing me to delve into the depths of the Force and summon arcane energies to twist and warp the world around me to a degree that few-"

"Okay but magic. Spells, rituals, potions, that sort of thing. Yes? Or are we talking 'magic' in air quotes like when primitive cultures discover the Force?"

"Sith magic is very real, and one of the most powerful known expressions of the dark side."

And now she had Cordelia's complete attention. Mainly because since the moment that she'd fully integrated her fake memories into her thought processes, the dimensional transplant had suspected that the Force was nothing more than a very narrow and limited way of tapping into the same energy that Willow had routinely used to make reality itself her bitch. But outside of scattered reports of 'witches' on Dathomir? Cordelia had found precisely fuck and all to support her hypothesis that there was something more out there for those who could figure out how to reach it. Given their respective mindsets, it didn't surprise her in the least that the Sith were more willing - and able - to fully explore the Force than the Jedi were. But it did leave her with a conundrum.

How could she possibly manage to learn more about this galaxy's version of magic from this woman… spirit… whatever… without doing something that would get her killed, like betraying the Jedi Order and actually becoming a Sith? Because Cordelia was fully aware that doing so would shorten her life expectancy considerably. Not only were they the ancestral enemies of the Jedi, but the constant backstabbing that permeated the Sith meant that becoming one would mean sacrificing the job security that came with being a member of the Jedi Order. At the same time, Zannah had knowledge that Cordelia desperately wanted and had no other conceivable way to obtain. But if she had nothing to offer in exchange… how could she convince Zannah to part with that knowledge?

"Okay, so, in the spirit of honesty? Which I'm pretty sure is a foreign concept to Darth Anyone At All Ever? I have absolutely no idea how I ended up in this universe. I mean, I do know insofar as I was asked if I wanted to come here and I said yes. Kinda. I said they could send me to a new universe; I didn't specifically agree to this universe. But how those incredibly powerful ascended beings got me from where I was to here?" Cordelia shrugged helplessly. "I've got no idea. Kinda glad, to be honest. I'm not sure I could resist the temptation to try jumping… well, anywhere else if I had the chance. I'm making the best of it but to be blunt? This universe is pretty lame."

Scowling, Zannah's ethereal form invaded Cordelia's personal space to the point that the brunette actually felt goose pimples forming on her skin from the blue-tinged spirit's nearness. "I see. So you're of no use to me, then."

Rather than acknowledge her relative weakness by retreating, Cordelia brought her hand up and through Zannah's body before wobbling it back and forth. "I wouldn't say that. I can't give you a body or take you to another universe or whatever it is you thought you could use me for… but I've got a really open mind."

Likewise refusing to cede any ground, Zannah's head cocked to the side mere inches from Cordelia's own. "You expect me to freely impart… what, presumably the secrets of Sith magic to you based upon your questions? Perhaps out of the goodness of my heart or some such banal notion? No. If you have nothing to offer me, then I will give you nothing in return." Zannah gestured with one hand and Cordelia's eyes widened as black mist began seeping up out of the seemingly solid ground. The mist quickly solidified into a sinuous tendril that lashed out at the brunette, punching a neat hole in her very expensive designer cloak as Cordelia leapt back out of its path. But even as she went for her weapons - useless as training sabers might be against anything, much less a Force spirit - Zannah shot her a condescending smirk before gesturing dismissively as the tendril dissolved. "Now run back to your pathetic little Jedi friends before I send you back to them in pieces."

"Okay, first of all? If that cloak wasn't from last season, I would find a way to kick your poltergeisty ass. Secondly? If the others were anything like you, it's no wonder that the Sith went from a galaxy-spanning empire to skulking in the shadows. Your paranoia and selfishness overwhelm your common sense to a degree that makes me seem like a paragon of altruism." After eyeing her opponent suspiciously for a few more seconds to make sure that Zannah wasn't going to attack again, Cordelia let her hands drift away from her lightsabers and raised them so that she could gesture to their surroundings. "Seriously, all I was asking for was to learn a little something from you. About yes, your magic. You know why? Because my universe's magic is what brought me here, and I was absolutely powerless before I arrived. Now that I'm not? Powerless, that is? I want to learn more about my power. More than it seems like the Jedi want to teach me."

"Admirable, to be sure, but by no means a reason that I should-"

"Maybe it's not. But fine, you want a reason why you should have been willing to teach me?" Cordelia's left arm rose so that she could point skyward as she scoffed loudly. "If you really did feel me arrive because you can sense all the way from here to Coruscant? Then you have a pretty good idea of the current state of the galaxy. The state of the Sith. The Jedi outnumber your kind by a factor of literally thousands to one, and assuming some of your knowledge hasn't already been lost to time? If that last master and apprentice get killed off, there goes all that knowledge that you're so eager to horde. Which is pretty much your only remaining legacy at this point."

"Wait. On second thought, perhaps I can-"

"Nope! Fuck you, Zannah! I'm out!"

"Perhaps I was a bit hasty and allowed my rightful arrogance to get the better of-"

"Nooope! Maybe one of the two actual living Sith are more polite and open-minded than you; I'll find one of them and get them to teach me what I want to know!"


	6. An Offer You Can Refuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** This is the last chapter that will occur before the Battle of Geonosis, which will happen off-screen because as much fun as it would be to have Cordelia mocking Anakin when she shows up with the rescue squad… it's a bit too easy and predictable. Up after this will be the post-First Battle of Kamino arc, then an existing chapter in a new spot to tighten up continuity, two more existing chapters in close to their original spots, and then a whole bunch of new content drawn from _The Clone Wars_ movie and the ensuing television show. With some changes to compensate for my decision to stick with the EU versions of Aayla and Barriss, of course…  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

"Chancellor Palpatine?" Hovering just inside the office door, Cordelia looked around the massive room - or more accurately, suite of rooms - uncertainly. On a planet where the foundation of each building rested on the roof of an older and less important one, space was a precious commodity. To be given so much space purely for his office spoke volumes about this man's power; namely, that he had lots and lots of it, especially compared to a Jedi kinda-sorta-padawan who probably didn't even legally exist in this galaxy. "You sent a message to the High Council requesting to speak with me?"

The white-haired old man emerged from a side room, smoothing his hands down the front of his robes. "Ah yes, the inestimable Cordelia Chase. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Cordelia nodded and took a few steps further into the room as she pasted on Fake Smile #3: 'Dealing with Snyder and Other Authority Figures That She Shouldn't Piss Off'. His attention to his robes made her peer down at her own outfit uncertainly. While the amethyst dress was unlike anything she would have worn back on Earth - well, without being paid a large sum of money if she had to be seen by anyone in it - the designer who had made it for her had assured her that it was the height of fashion among the Coruscanti elite, which her own research via the HoloNet had confirmed. But despite her own misgivings about it… well, you were only fashionable if everyone else thought you looked good. At least until you reached a certain level of celebrity where your choices set the tone for conversations everywhere. And so while Cordelia despised being a sheep, she was realistic enough to admit that she didn't have a prayer of influencing galactic culture… yet.

But contemplation of galactic fashion's shortcomings and her desire to rectify them could wait, Cordelia told herself. For now, she needed to focus on the fact that she'd been summoned to meet with the Republic's equivalent of the president. "Not to seem rude, Your Excellency, but is there a reason you wanted to see me? I know that the Senate just granted you emergency powers… the Army of the Republic is being organized… pretty sure I heard people talking about a war, even. I'm sure you have much more important things to do than entertain a single lowly padawan." There. Cordelia gave herself a mental pat on the back. Inquisitive, but just self-deprecating enough to reassure him that she knew her place without seeming like a simpering moron. Perfect.

"One of the perks that comes with my current station is that I am the one who delegates, rather than the one who things are delegated to. It allows me to foist all sorts of boring, mundane work off onto the people around me so that I can have times to enjoy the more important things in life." Palpatine settled himself behind his oversized desk and then gestured for Cordelia to take one of the chairs on the opposite side. "For instance, I love opera. I'm both a patron of the arts and occasionally dabble in painting. Landscapes mostly, particularly Nabooian waterfalls. I collect rare landspeeders. And I try my best to keep tabs on potentially influential members of the next generation of the Republic."

That made sense to Cordelia in a strange, politician-y sort of way. Especially since he was totally going to have to kiss Jedi ass now that a war was breaking out. Just as she'd been leaving the Temple to make her way over to the Republic Executive Building, Cordelia had spotted a large number of the Temple's Jedi mounting up to go rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi and Emokin from whatever trap they'd fallen into now. Something involving Geonosis and the Separatists. Thankfully Hiskari was currently in the infirmary with a torn hamstring from a duel that had gotten a bit too rough, while Cordelia had been exempted due to her lack of proper master to drag her along for the ride. Which left her free to make her appointment with the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Joy. "I see. So this is what… meet and greet? I get to be the first little Jedi to tell you her favorite color, dreams for the future, yadda yadda yadda?"

Palpatine mouthed those last words silently before shaking his head. "Nothing quite so mundane, Padawan Chase. No, I have heard several reports of your… many and varied skills… and wanted the chance to meet you in person. I believe you have the potential to become very influential both as a Jedi and a member of galactic society as a whole, and I want to help you along on your way to greatness."

"Really? Because I don't have the patience to be the surrogate mother of a snotty teenage brat, so I don't think I'm ever going to make master. Which in turn means that I'll never be a member of the Council, even if I wanted to be." Leaning back in the plush chair, Cordelia shrugged and eyed Palpatine curiously. "So unless you've got some sort of useless Jedi job placement agency in the words, I don't think that I'm the girl you think I am."

Opening one of his desk drawers, Palpatine withdrew a small stack of datapads and turned each one on before placing them on the desk between them, creating a neat little line of glowing screens. "On the contrary, Padawan Chase, you are precisely the girl that I think you are. Based on everything that I've heard, you are a powerful Jedi who - despite their attempts to slow your progress by fragmenting your education - will soon reach the point where there is nothing left for you to learn at the Temple. I have befriended many a Jedi over my years here on Coruscant and to a man, they believed that one's true mastery of the Force came through experience and experimentation. Those are two things that will be hard to come by for you while under the High Council's thumb, since I doubt they will ever trust such a rebellious member of their Order with a mission of any import. I, on the other hand, see you as a young woman who simply wishes to be allowed to live with the same rights as any other sapient being, albeit one with special talents. So if the Jedi won't help you reach your full potential… I am offering you the chance to better yourself out the walls of their Temple."

Cordelia nibbled on her lower lip as she pondered that. While she was still learning new things on a regular basis - especially from Shaak Ti, Aayla, and Naia Sendar - she'd noticed that her forward progress was slowing. Was that really the reason why? And now that she thought about it, she'd never really discussed her future with any of the ranking Jedi she regularly had contact with. Would they ever knight her despite her unconventional origin and education? Or would she just sorta linger around the Temple as a padawan from now until the day she finally kicked the bucket? Perhaps… perhaps this was an offer worth listening to. Even if he was a politician. "Well, I'm already pretty amazing as it is, but I wouldn't say no to being even more fabulous. What kind of stuff are we talking about?"

Chuckling a bit at her thoroughly irreverent response, Palpatine gestured from datapad to datapad as he spoke, causing Cordelia to lean forward curiously to inspect each of them. "For instance, while Kuat is currently in the last stages of testing with a new fighter for the Jedi to field? I happen to know that Incom has been actively searching for a more independent member of the Order to work with as they try to develop a competing craft. Or you could choose to pursue a more conventional education; being sponsored by the Supreme Chancellor would easily secure you a spot at any of the Core's most prestigious universities." Cordelia pondered both options before shaking her head; as much as she complained about being Coruscant-bound, she didn't want to be a fighter pilot and the idea of going to college just seemed so… boring… in a galaxy teetering on the brink of war. "Very well. Then perhaps given that you seem to be leaning toward the Guardian branch of the Jedi Order, something more militaristic might appeal to you? The Temple may give you access to some of the finest Jedi swordsmen in the galaxy, but I know a number of very talented men and women who could be convinced to tech you how to utilize your blade in ways the Jedi have never dreamed of."

Well now. As fruitful as her lessons with Shaak Ti and Aayla were, Cordelia was always looking to learn more about how to handle the Jedi's signature weapon. "That could definitely be interesting. You'd need to figure out a way to apply pressure on the High Council first, though; I still don't have a lightsaber of my own. Training lightsabers are functionally identical, but I feel like I should have true weapons before I ask some elite instructor to devote their valuable time to teaching me…"

"You are still without the weapon of a Jedi at your age? A travesty. As a sign of my goodwill, I will reach out to my contacts within the Temple today regardless of what you decide." Woo! "Perhaps until then, you would prefer to train in the use of a more conventional weapon? You seem to have a fondness for blasters, which reminds me: if you could leave that hold-out blaster strapped to your right thigh with my secretary next time, my guards would greatly appreciate it." Palpatine seemed more amused than anything else and so Cordelia simply nodded and smiled, rather than pointing out that the Merr-Sonn Quickfire's power cell was fully depleted at present. Which reminded her, she really needed to figure out where she could pick up a charging cable for it. "And if you wished to advance your skills further in more traditional areas of warfare, I could ensure that you received a choice posting within the newly-forming Grand Army of the Republic. And those are just to start. Through me, you could avail yourself of other, more unique, training opportunities. I could help you learn… certain skills… that the Jedi would never approve of and never teach you."

Cordelia's smile never twitched even as her stomach roiled. A politician was making her extravagant offers and then wanted to teach her 'certain skills' that the Jedi weren't big on? Great. She'd stumbled onto the intergalactic version of Bill Clinton. Fantastic. "Well, this is definitely an interesting offer but what's the catch? I mean, what's in this for you?"

"Absolutely nothing. I wouldn't require anything from you in return." Palpatine leaned forward, reaching across the desk and taking her hands in his. "But in the future, were I to need the help of a Jedi? I would prefer that I be able to reach out to you before I contacted the Jedi Council. And that when I called, you would remember what I'd done for you and… be willing to give back."

Palpatine's offer was very tempting and Cordelia was almost willing to take him up on it, to hell with what the consequences might be. Then his gaze left hers, flickering south for a moment, and Cordelia's main worry came back. "Okay, as great as that sounds… you're way too old for me. Seriously, you're like what… sixty? I'm eighteen and change. That's more than three times as old. Now… you're not married or anything and so this is just skanky old man stuff and not adultery or anything… so I'm just going to leave and we're going to pretend this never happened, okay? Thanks. Bye."

"But… but…"

"Seriously, no. Thanks for playing, but I'm not Anna Nicole. So yeah, you're going to stay there and I'm going to walk through this here door, and we'll never ever speak of this ickiness again. Okay?" Cordelia gave a full body shudder as she raced out of Palpatine's office. Why did she get all the creepy admirers?

* * *

Palpatine frowned as he watched the young Jedi flee, carefully recounting every word he'd said to her. What… he'd never even entertained the idea of any sort of sexual liaison with the girl. How had she gotten such an idea from their encounter?

At least this girl wouldn't have to be silenced like the last Jedi he approached. Palpatine had gotten lucky with his former apprentice; it was very hard to find a child with any decent level of Force sensitivity that the Jedi didn't get to first. That left him with only one real option and so he had taken to trying to pry away the more rebellious members of the Jedi Order. He had gotten lucky with Dooku, but two others had suffered 'accidents' soon after meeting with him.

On to his fourth choice among the current crop of padawans, it would appear. Although a longer-term plan would be needed to successfully separate the boy from the Order, perhaps he'd have better luck with Anakin Skywalker than he did with Cordelia Chase…


	7. Water World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** Back by what I'm hoping is popular demand… more Cordelia! While trying to reconcile the books', comics', and cartoons' separate accounts of the events of the Clone Wars is damn near impossible since they were orchestrated by three completely separate groups of people who almost never talked to each other… I'm going to try my best. Mostly because no one source featured more than one prominent visit to Kamino after the outbreak of the war, and I need two at a minimum to pull this story off. If you're new to this story and wondering why, I'll give you a hint in the form of the title of Chapter 9: 'Cordius Multiplicitus'.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

Grimacing, Cordelia tightened her grip on the overhead strap to keep her balance as the deck of the Low Altitude Assault Transport bucked wildly beneath her. A nearby clone trooper couldn't quite muffle his snicker and Cordelia retaliated with a slight telekinetic shove that sent him stumbling into the bulkhead of the LAAT/i. Asshole.

Why couldn't they have used a more civilized - and comfortable - method of reaching the surface of Kamino? They'd used a T-6 shuttle to travel from the Temple to the _Defender_ before it departed Coruscant; surely a _Venator_ -class Star Destroyer carried at least shuttle of some sort on board even if their original ride had been sent back to the surface? Anything would have been better than a damn clone gunship that was designed for rapid troop transport rather than comfort. For one, the gunship didn't have solid walls, which meant she was exposed to the cold wind and driving rain as they approached their destination. And it didn't even have seats! Just stupid straps of fabric for people to grab and hold! Seriously, they could fly through hyperspace and travel between planets in a matter of hours or days… but they didn't know what seat belts were for? What the hell was that?

Although she should probably stop complaining, Cordelia realized, because at least this little jaunt meant that she was getting out of the Temple for more than a few hours at a time. Even if the ride sucked. Two months into a great big intergalactic conflict and Cordelia… was still mostly stuck on Coruscant doing nothing. Thankfully - although she felt kinda bad thinking it, since the man had been nice enough - Hiskari's master had been killed during the mission to Geonosis and so at least she wasn't completely alone. Or bored. Wink wink. On the other hand, it meant that since Master Windu wasn't around any more to provide a human-sized servant for Yoda - and most of her tutors had been shipped off-world to aid in the war effort - Cordelia had gotten 'promoted' to fill that void. Which meant she now spent her days getting dragged to meetings, diplomatic functions, and any other place Yoda might need someone to carry something or reach for an item more than two feet off the ground. Joy.

Today, that meant they were visiting the oh-so-lovely world of Kamino. The Separatists had launched an attack on the planet for obvious reasons - kill the cloners and then the Republic would inevitably run out of troops as the war dragged on - and so Yoda was making a visit to ensure that the facilities fueling the Bland Army of the Republic were still in decent shape. Cordelia glared at the little gnome's back. When he'd told her of their destination, she'd gone to the Archives and tried looking up Kamino. Nothing. And of course that hadn't been included in the mission's information packet; Yoda had probably assumed she already knew all about the planet since he did and her job was to follow him. Pfft. Like she actually paid attention during his boring meetings. Which was why she hadn't known they were going to a giant stormy ball of water, and chosen her outfit terribly as a result. God, her boss was such an asshole sometimes. Yoda shot a look back over his shoulder at her, but she maintained her glare. Yeah, you heard me! Obnoxious gnome!

A few minutes later, the gunship finally touched down on their assigned landing platform and the doors swung open so that they could disembark. Yoda's cane made little clicks against the metal deck before he let out a grunt and dropped to the platform. Peering down at the puddle he was standing in, Cordelia sighed before following him out into the raging storm. At least they had the good sense to not have some sort of drawn-out welcoming party out on the landing platform, she mused. In the end, though, it was little use: by the time Ko Sai led them through a pair of clear sliding doors and into shelter, her outfit was soaked through from the driving rain. Ugh. Nothing beat cold, soaked cloth clinging to one's skin when it came to comfort.

The procession soon reached the command center where the meeting was to be held, and Cordelia quickly spotted a potential escape route for herself. "Hey, Master Yoda, sir? Can I borrow Aayla for a bit so I can go find a change of clothes? We're pretty close to the same size and I'm really not feeling my current look." All eyes in the room came to rest on her, and then the jaws of every human male present dropped. Or at least Cordelia assumed they had; she couldn't see the clone troopers' faces for obvious reasons, but they were definitely shooting looks her way. "There is no passion, people, there is serenity." The attention didn't waver and so Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest defensively before stomping her foot in irritation. "Stop ogling me!"

"My previous companions, I miss. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, I am." Yoda let out an aggrieved sigh before glancing over at where Aayla was shaking her head in amusement. "If amenable, General Secura is? Required by me, your presence is not."

The Rutian Twi'lek shook her head before pushing off of the holoprojector that she was leaning against. "I think I've been thoroughly debriefed on the battle at this point. Seeing as how I'll be shipping out with 327th Star Corps in a few days, I wouldn't be relevant to defense planning even if I had any experience. Seeing as how I'm not needed here? Come on, Cordelia. Let's see if we can find you something drier and less transparent to wear." As soon as she'd led Cordelia out of the command center and into one of the complex's featureless hallways, though, Aayla let out a little snicker. "Honestly, Cordelia, wearing a white dress to a planet where it rains nine and a half days out of ten? I would think that you of all people would know better."

Cordelia snorted before tossing her head, letting her soaked hair slap against her companion's face. "Funny, Aayla. Really funny. Hilarious. Don't you think I checked the Archives for information when Yoda gave me this mission? There's nothing. And somehow, you and Shaak Ti both managed to neglect to share the whole 'water world covered in constant rain' tidbit with me. I mean seriously, do you think I would have done that on purpose? The last thing I need is Emokin and Obi-Wank polishing their lightsabers to the mental image of me in a wet white dress." Peering back over her shoulder, she arched an eyebrow. "The clones, on the other hand, I don't mind nearly as much. I looked up Jango Fett after one of the troopers mentioned who their father was, and the Kaminoans definitely could have picked a worse person to make a few million copies of."

"Cordelia!" Aayla looked scandalized as she glanced back and forth between Cordelia and the two clone troopers trailing them, and wow did that expression look odd on a species with no eyebrows. "I thought you were better than that! Especially after all of the trouble that you've had with the High Council over your relationship with her, that you're so willing to throw Hiskari away for-"

Curling one hand around Aayla's right bicep, Cordelia pulled the Twi'lek to a stop before pressing her free hand over Aayla's mouth to silence her. "First things first, who said anything about throwing her away? Cheating? Et cetera and so forth? I'm just saying that if someone's gonna be fantasizing about me, I'd rather it be the hunky trooper army. To be brutally honest, I'm not sure I'd trust them if they weren't lusting after me. Clearly, they'd be defective." Aayla let out a snort at that, and Cordelia chuckled before pulling her hand away from her friend's mouth. "But secondly, let's say that I was thinking of trading in Hiskari… and that I was interested in playing for the home team again. We both know that the High Council is okay with sex as long as you know the rules: as long as you don't fall in love or anything, you can take care of your needs. The whole 'army of identical buff, hunky men' thing would actually work in my favor at that point: any time I felt like I was getting too attached, I could trade my boyfriend in for a new one." Then something occurred to her and she paused, looking from one of her clone trooper escorts to the other consideringly. "Although if I did decide to date one… do you think it'd count as cheating if I slept with a different one, since they're all technically the same person?"

The armored troopers looked at each other, and then came a slight pop followed by a slightly altered-sounding voice emerging from the clone trooper with green markings on his armor. "Personally, I feel like the answer to that would be no…"

"You're hardly unbiased, Kano." Pulling away from Cordelia, Aayla turned on her heel and resumed her trek down the curving hallway. "And Cordelia, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." Cordelia rolled her eyes as she followed behind the Twi'lek; she still didn't get the point of replying just to say you weren't going to reply. Clearly, that was in fact a reply. "Just out of curiosity, have you always been this naughty or has something changed in the past few months?"

"I'm sorry, do you not remember that time I went in front of the High Council and threatened to screw half the padawans in the Temple? I'm not any more or less 'naughty' than I used to be, Aayla. I'm just even more painfully candid than I used to be because… well, we're at war. What if you die tomorrow? I don't want to be left regretting all the things I never said to make you blush." The two reached a fork in the hallway and came to a halt. "Besides, is the woman who insists that pole-dancing is a legitimate form of exercise really the best person to lecture me about being naughty?"

Aayla's turquoise skin flushed a lovely shade of dark blue at that, and she sniffed before looking away from Cordelia's teasing grin. "I'll have you know that pole-dancing is a very good workout and that's why Twi'leks are taught how to dance from a young age. It builds muscle tone, flexibility…"

"…and a small army of male padawans willing to do your bidding when you make a habit of 'working out' using that nice pole smack dab in the center of that one gym. Your feeble attempt at moral superiority fails." Cordelia's grin widened when Aayla stuck her tongue out in response; as always, it fell to her to keep the Twi'lek from getting sucked into the black hole of seriousness that was the Jedi Order. And just like every other time in past, she'd succeeded at her self-appointed mission. "Now, why are we standing here? I can almost feel those four eyes boring into my ass, and it's almost enough to tempt me away from the Dyke Side for the afternoon. Almost. Which would be a disaster, because I'm reasonably certain that the time difference means Hiskari is asleep on Coruscant."

"Why is that at all-"

"We decided that if we're not both there physically, the other has to at least be watching it on holocomm or it's considered cheating."

Absolute silence descended for nearly a minute as Aayla stood there processing that, ultimately throwing her hands up in defeat before shaking her head. "Just when I think I finally understand the intricacies of your relationship with Hiskari, you open your mouth and prove me wrong." After spending a bit longer in introspection, Aayla shook her head again as she refocused on the matter at hand, waving toward the left fork in the hallway with one hand as the other gestured down at her own outfit. "What passes for guest quarters around here are down that way. Thank the Force I'm used to spartan quarters at the Temple, or I'd be quite put out at the accommodations. I'm equally glad you're not going to be here long; I can only imagine what you're going to say." Cordelia arched a brow at that; if even Aayla was unhappy with the housing situation… yikes. "I packed what little I have in the way of a wardrobe when I left Coruscant because I wasn't sure when I'd be back and I didn't want to spend a few months living in the same outfit." Then Aayla swapped, using her right hand to indicate the other hallway as she jerked her left thumb back over her shoulder at the clone troopers. "The Kamino armorsmiths are set up two or three sectors over from here. While they obviously wouldn't have anything that fits you right now, I heard one of the Kaminoans talking to Obi-Wan earlier. They're trying to find a willing volunteer to help them fine-tune a new armor design for the clones. I believe this is where you would say… hint hint?"

Cordelia pondered her options for a second. Barely. Behind Door Number One lay a cleavagey, midriff-baring leather top and matching leather pants that were meant for someone with less donk than she herself possessed. Behind the other door lay some kick ass armor that she could hopefully use to convince the High Council to promote her past 'Reach Up To That Shelf, You Must' Girl. She had enough problems with guys ogling her when she wore stuff more covering than Aayla preferred… and she was in a white mood today. And so looping her arm through Aayla's, she tugged the Twi'lek off down the righthand corridor. "Hi ho, hi ho, to the armory we go."

* * *

"…sir, are all the female Jedi going to look like those two?"

CS-1004 gave a discreet shake of his head to convey an answer without giving away to the Jedi that they were using their helmet comlinks to communicate. After spending the last few days around her, the clone trooper sergeant was finally getting used to the less-clothed form of General Secura. This new Jedi woman, in her nearly transparent dress that showed off more smooth skin and skimpy white underwear than he'd ever seen outside of the HoloNet… she was something else. "I don't think so, trooper. I'm pretty sure that most of them dress like General Ti and General Unduli."

"Thank the Maker."


	8. Making a New Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Joe's Note:** While small parts of this chapter might seem familiar to you, the majority of it is wholly original thanks to one of my patron's requesting a very unusual bust from my wife. While LGBT characters as a whole are rare in the _Star Wars_ franchise, transgender individuals are represented by a singular specimen: a deeply problematic cross-species 'transgenderative' character whose story defies established canon alien physiology in addition to good taste. So when Howard asked me to breathe life into his idea for a transgender clone trooper? I decided to not just work with Lexi to visualize, but also incorporate that character into my story. Let's see how I did.  
>  **Dedications & Thanks:** To Nicholas, Alexander, Howard, MJ, Daniel, Christopher, Marc, Ziryo, Elliot, Crusifikz70, Timothy, Leigh, Jason, Chris, George, Koby, Ken, Thyatira, William, Wil, Invernos, Jack, Pat, Warren, Chris, Mitch, and Jess for sponsoring my work, and making it easier for me to spend more of my time writing.
> 
> * * *

Kamino was an almost painfully bland planet, Cordelia was quickly discovering as Aayla guided her through a series of almost featureless hallways that lead to the armory. Or at least Tipoca City was very bland. Parts of Tipoca City were bland? While she was willing to concede there was a chance that the Kaminoans reserved more expressive and artistic architecture and design for their residential areas, she was equally willing to acknowledge that the chances were slim that a species would have drastically different design aesthetics for differing land uses. Which meant that no matter where she went, she was going to be stuck looking at endless corridors in varying shades of white and grey, occasional transparisteel panels, and… wait, what was that?

The other three members of her party continued onward for several paces before drifting to a stop even as Cordelia backpedaled several steps so that she could peer down one of the smaller side corridors. Sure enough, the brunette found exactly what she thought she'd seen: a woman standing in the midst of a group of clone troopers. Judging by her attire - and the blaster holstered at her right hip - she definitely wasn't a fellow Jedi that Cordelia simply hadn't met before. But at the same time, she looked too young to be Rav Bralor and too sane to be the infamous Isabet Reau… not to mention that the members of the _Cuy'val Dar_ seemed to practically live in their armor. Then the woman turned to look at Cordelia, and the brunette's eyes went wide. "…how the fuck does that even work?"

Raising an eyebrow an eyebrow challengingly, the woman who was quite clearly a feminine version of the standard Bland Army of the Republic trooper slipped between her brothers as she made her way over to where Cordelia was standing. "Is there something I can help you with, General?" Her brown eyes raked up and down over Cordelia critically before the corner of her mouth quirked upward a bit in a distinct sneer. "Or at least I assume you're a Jedi even if you don't look the part."

"Okay, I was going to apologize for being rude and quite possibly transphobic… but if that's how you want to play this?" Cordelia scowled as she crossed one arm over her still damp chest before using the other to gesture to the oddity in front of her. "I'll stand by my original question: how the fuck does that even work?"

The woman's eyebrow had barely relaxed before arching again inquiringly at the question. "I'd wondered how sheltered younger Jedi were based on what I read about them on the HoloNet, but I'd never imagined it would be this bad. Very well." Her expression became more thoughtful as she reached up, tapping a finger against her chin. "If I remember what Nala Se told me correctly? After having me speak at length with a mentop to ensure it was truly what I wanted out of my life, they began the process by introducing some experimental nanomachines into my body. Those droids sought out and captured androgens before they could bind to the receptors, and then converted them into estrogen and progesterone before releasing them to be absorbed by my body. Then came a series of reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries that altered my physiology and appearance to meet my needs." Expression morphing into a smirk as she reached the end of her explanation, the woman's eyes slowly drifted downward to rest on Cordelia's chest. "It would appear that you're already familiar with the latter, General."

Her expression growing even more severe at what the clone was implying, Cordelia uncrossed her arms so that she could bring her hands inward to cup her breasts. "First of all, these are all natural so fuck you very much. Second of all, I'm duly impressed by how advanced it is here in this universe but I know how HRT works. I was more referring to the fact that… you're a clone trooper?"

"Yes."

"Who's trans."

"Yes."

"See, that's the part where I'm running into problems. Because you're a clone. Which means that you were made from the same genes as them." Cordelia paused for a moment, leaning to one side and gesturing past the woman to her male counterparts for emphasis before returning to the odd clone out and continuing on. "We're not just talking about the same general gene pool here, you literally have the same genes as the rest of the clone troopers. So how the hell do you clone a cis dude and end up with a bunch of cis dude clones and one trans woman clone?"

The woman appeared to ponder that for a moment before offering a hapless shrug paired with a faint smirk in response. "Maybe _Jango'buir_ had a thing for wearing red armor and all my brothers are the defective ones?" That elicited groans from the nearby clone troopers, which the clone ignored as she looked Cordelia in the eye. "Some troopers are a little taller or shorter, some troopers have blue or green eyes. I am what I am, and I make no apologies for it. So I'll ask you one last time… is there something I can help you with? General?"

Even as Aayla visibly tensed in the corner of Cordelia's eye, clearly expecting the conflict to escalate to a new and potentially dangerous level, the brunette threw her head back and laughed. It had been far, far too long since she'd met someone who could hold their own in a battle of wits. Especially among her fellow Order members; those who didn't quail and retreat in the face of her snark tended to exploit seniority as a way to shut down her attempts at verbal sparring. Sure, Hiskari was learning the ins and outs of playful banter at a remarkable rate, but one adorable girlfriend did not a circle of friends make. "Yes. My current mission involves seeing if the Kaminoans can churn out some decent armor for women, which I'm pretty sure is relevant to your interests too. Seeing as how you're awesome, I'm offering to recruit you as the first clone in my literally non-existent regiment. But hey, free armor. You in?"

"On one hand, you're obnoxious. On the other, we may have been raised to embrace gender equality the same way as our Mandalorian forefathers but that doesn't make me any more capable of stuffing myself into my brothers' armor." After giving Cordelia a last slow once over, the woman thrust her hand out in the Jedi's direction. "The name's Mar'eyce. Count me in."

* * *

Three hours later, Cordelia grimaced and waved off the flash fabricated helmet that Tau Shel was offering her. "Save that for my cloned friend over there. I don't even wear one of those when I'm flying. Certainly not going to wear one now. Do you know how bad a helmet messes up a girl's hair?" She paused for a moment and then perked up, snapping her fingers excitedly. "Oh! What about fabricating some kind of tiara or headband you could attach a visor to? You could use it to mount some of the essential gear that you'd put in a helmet, and it'd be less restrictive than a white plastoid bucket."

As Tau Shel wandered off to confer with his minions, Cordelia turned her attention to the sleek white armor she was wearing, twisting back and forth as she took it all in. Oh, she could definitely learn to like a getup like this. Granted it was all flash fabricated prototypes and therefore not suitable for stopping a properly motivated spitball, but if the final product looked this good… yes. All the yes. It was similar to the armor worn by all the clonetroopers she'd met, made of twenty pieces of white plastoid-alloy composite armor over a matte black body glove. Unlike the clones' armor, though, hers was carefully molded using full body scans to create a design that accentuated her curves in an aesthetically pleasing yet protective way. They'd even given her the cute little pistol that she'd been eyeing on the belt of one of the yellow-marked clones. Evidently the DC-17 was generally reserved for clonetrooper commanders, clone jet troopers, and the newly activated ARC troopers… but they were willing to make an exception for her. Perk of being so damn awesome, she supposed.

After spending a bit longer admiring how she looked in her newest and fiercest outfit yet, Cordelia finally wrenched her eyes away from her own form to check on how Mar'eyce was doing. Just as she'd hoped, her first - and currently only - minion was looking slick as hell in a similar set of armor, although the clone's version wasn't as uniformly white as Cordelia's. A set of four maroon circles adorned the left side of the chestplate with a stripe of the same color running down the length of each arm; as the brunette watched, Mar'eyce accepted the helmet that Cordelia had dismissed that was also marked up the middle and around the visor with maroon. It was a good look, Cordelia decided, although it was missing a certain something. Her eyes drifted downward to the pistol holstered at Mar'eyce's right hip. Ah. There it was. "Can we get her a shotgun?"

That drew the attention of both Mar'eyce and Tau Shel, the former raising an eyebrow curiously as uncertainty radiated off the latter in the Force. "Begging your pardon, Master Jedi, but while we do have access to such weapons here in Tipoca City, I must confess that I find your request… curious."

"You haven't worked with many Jedi before, have you?" Drawing her twin training lightsabers, Cordelia made sure that the area around her was clear before igniting them and swinging them around her body lazily. "This is our usual range of engagement. Sure, we can run and jump and throw our sabers… but close quarters combat is our bread and butter. From what I've seen of the clones? They generally carry rifles and carbines, with the occasional pistol mixed in here and there. If Mar'eyce is going to be traveling with me-"

"From what General Secura has told me, technically I'll be traveling with Senior General Yoda and you'll just sort of be there too."

"Shush you. As I was saying, if she's going to be with me, rifles and carbines are impractical. If she's going to be keeping up with me, any enemies that we're fighting will be too close for her to hit easily. I was going to ask you to give her a DC-17 like mine, but pistols generally lack stopping power." Extinguishing her lightsabers, Cordelia made a note to come up with a better method of storing them before awkwardly stuffing them into one of the belt's pouches and gesturing to Mar'eyce. "So by process of elimination, the perfect weapon for a clone who will be working closely with a Jedi is a shotgun."

Cocking her head to the side, Mar'eyce offered a faint smirk as she studied Cordelia. "While I'm not going to disagree with any of that, I am going to say that it's surprisingly insightful given the source."

"Eat my entire ass, Copycat."

"Do I look like a Nautolan to you?"

"How do you even know about Hiskari?"

"General Secura is a treasure trove of useful intelligence on my new assignment."

"I see. And did General Secura tell you why she's crafted not one but two lightsabers with distinctly phallic hilts?"

Two darker blue spots appearing high on her cheeks, Aayla gestured and Cordelia felt an invisible hand cuff her upside the head. "I was trying to help you out by making sure that Mar'eyce knew basic information that you would expect her to know without thinking to tell her yourself, and this is the thanks I get. See if I ever help you again."

Before Cordelia could come up with a suitable retort, the armory's door slide open to admit… Taun We? Possibly? While Cordelia was by no means racist or of the opinion that 'all members of insert alien species here looked alike', she was having one hell of a time figuring out how to distinguish one Kaminoan from another. The brunette was pretty sure that it was Taun We, though. Given that she was the project coordinator for the clone army contract and therefore an integral part of the meetings that were going on… what was she doing here? Tau Shel turned to Taun We and the two chattered back and forth in an odd, musical language that Cordelia assumed was Kaminoan or whatever they called their native tongue. Although it was hard to read emotions off the very not-human face of Tau Shel, Cordelia could feel through the Force that he was… unhappy? Annoyed? Finally, he backed down and stalked off, leaving Taun We to make her way over to Cordelia and bow. "Tau Shel speaks very highly of your intelligence and personality, Master Jedi. Would you be willing to come and discuss a potentially lucrative project with me?"

Looking back over her shoulder at Aayla in askance, Cordelia received a baffled shrug in reply. So while the Twi'lek had known about the Phase II project, she had no idea what Taun We had planned for Cordelia either. Well, whatever the Kaminoan had planned for her, it sure as hell beat being Yoda's serving girl or sitting in a boring meeting. Besides, it looked like someone was finally recognizing her worth. Other than Chancellor Clinton, that was. "Lead on. Although I want to come back later so Tau Shel and I can finish. I just had the best idea for a tweak to these boots. Have you ever heard of something called wedges?"


End file.
